And They Say These Are The Best Years
by Eletoile
Summary: Fic prompt Gail/Holly: Gail and Holly arrive at college and learn they are going to be roommates for the next year. They can't really stand each other in the beginning but slowly they become to grow closer to each other. Like let's share our bed tongue close. Written to fill a prompt on Tumblr. AU in which Gail and Holly are housed together at a university dorm.
1. Chapter I

I was sitting in the front seat of the car as it slowly pulled up in front of my new living quarters for the next eight months. A wash of emotion flooded me. I was excited, clearly, to branch out on my own apart from my overbearing and, oftentimes, overly (and falsely) sugary sweet mother and my helpless father. At the same time, I could end up living in smaller quarters with someone insane. Sure this "Holly Stewart" seemed nice enough on paper. We had written e-mails back and forth to make sure we weren't duplicating supplies for our room. All I really knew about her, however, was that she would buy the futon and the fridge if I bought the loft bed unit and that she was pre-med, which I suppose means she is some sort of science nerd. I think to myself that I bet she wears glasses and squints at things and I snort aloud.

"What is it, sweetheart?" my mother says as she plasters a smile on her face.

"Nothing" I retort, as we pull up in front of the dorm.

Chaos doesn't even begin to describe the scene. It seems like there are, at least, one hundred people milling about on the lawn in front of the dormitory. I don't really feel like dealing with anyone, but know I must interact with the upperclassman with the clipboards to get anywhere. Begrudgingly I unbuckle my seat belt and hop out of the car. I find one of the overly-filled-with-school-spirit clipboard holders and wait in a short line to talk to him.

"Name?" he inquires.

"Gail Peck"

"Floors here work in this order, all-male floor, all-female floor, all-male floor, all-female floor. The all-male floors are floors one and three and all-female floors are two and four. You will be housed on an all-female floor."

"Thank you, captain obvious. This university is giving you a degree soon? That's scary. I'm not sure a degree will help you."

He glares at me but continues. "You're on floor two, room 220. When you walk in through the doors behind me you'll walk a little ways down the hallway. On the left there is the front desk. It is where you will pick up any mail you might receive and, today; it is where you will pick up your room key. If you lose the key there is a $50 replacement fee." He checked my name off his little clipboard list and yelled "Next!"

I grabbed a few of my bags out of the back of the car and told my mother to wait there while I went in to obtain the key. I was thankful that my mother wanted to get rid of me so early because the line to get the key was slimmer than I am sure it would have been in the later hours. The girl at the front desk gives me the key and directions to my room. I follow the hallway back towards the entrance and make a left through another door immediately in front of the entrance doors. I climb the two flights of stairs and open the door to floor two. My room is about three-fourths of the way down the hallway. To my disbelief, the room isn't empty. I hadn't expected my roommate to arrive earlier than me. Yet here she was.

"Hi, you must be Gail!" she says in a tone of voice much too cheery for eight in the morning.

"Yeah, right. Hi." I drop my bags down on the side of the room she hasn't already claimed and trudge back out the door to go gather more of my belongings, which after seeing how full her half of the room was already becoming, I was glad to have only a small amount of things.

I barged out the entrance doors and swiftly walked by Señor Clipboard and he flashed me a sour smile.

"I can park here for fifteen minutes, I was told, without being in the car. So lets get these things out of here and go meet that roommate of yours, shall we?"

Must everything this woman says be dripping with rancid sugar? I don't voice my concerns on these issues and silently grab as much as I can carry so she can get out of here as soon as possible. She follows me silently (thankfully) to the door of my room, which I notice is now propped open. She breezes past me into the room and exclaims,

"Oh the loft just looks marvelous. Doesn't it look marvelous, Gail?"

"Yeah, lovely" I deadpan back. As usual, she isn't fazed.

"And you must be Holly?" she inquires.

"Yes, hello, it is nice to meet you Mrs. Peck" Holly said as she thrusts her arm forward towards my mother confidently.

"Don't be silly, dear, Elaine" my mother says as she shakes Holly's hand.

I try to busy myself by arranging some of my bags in convenient locations for unpacking so I do not have to witness this awful exchange. Unfortunately, busying myself doesn't make me deaf.

"What are you here at school for, dear?"

"I am pre-med." Holly says as she arranges some things on her desk.

"Oh, that's very ambitious. I always say being a doctor is almost as good as being a police officer" my mother beams and I roll my eyes. "My Gail is studying criminology so she can go into the family business, police work" at this I am pretty sure my eyes have rolled back into my head. I bet Holly and all her fancy medical knowledge could tell me whether or not this is even possible.

"Oh, well that's cool" Holly replies.

You're pretty sure she has re-arranged her desk three times in the last five minutes. Maybe she is OCD. Great, just what you need, an OCD roommate.

"Yes, _cool" _my mother stresses the word as if it is offensive to her. "To protect and serve"

I want to bash my head against the wooden support beam of the loft. I need to get out of here.

"Right, mother, let us go get the rest of my belongings. Fifteen minutes, remember. Chop, chop!"

"Well it was nice to meet you, _dear_,"my mother says to Holly and turns to exit the room. I can see Holly visibly let out a sigh as my mother exits the room before me.

We grabbed the rest of my belongings out of the car. Thankfully, my mother had already wasted too much of her day driving me out here so she simply dropped the bags off in my room, said "Make me proud" in her condescending tone, and exited the room. I had never been so happy to see someone leave a room. Holly turned from her desk towards me and smiled,

"She's quite a lot to handle, isn't she?"

"You don't even know the half of it," I mumble back.

Holly spent the rest of the day unpacking her belongings. It only took me two hours so I climbed up into my lofted bed and relaxed while listening to music through my headphones.

* * *

We lived together for a week and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Or so I, foolishly assumed. Holly came into the room one evening and all hell broke loose.

"First of all, you're a slob" she said to me when she noticed the TV dinner carton lying on top of the microwave.

"Would it really kill you to throw this away?" she says irritably as she throws the container in the trash with enough force to break the floor.

"It might, and I am too young to die" you retort back, giving her a wolfish smile.

"How can someone who has so little belongings make such a ridiculous fucking mess, Gail? You realize we have a tiny shower stall so when you leave your products in there, there is even less room for me to shower. Hence, why we agreed on the caddy. Your desk looks like a goddamn bomb went off and I am pretty sure there is not a single surface on your side of the room that isn't covered in cheese puff orange dust. Even some of my stuff is covered in it. If you're going to snoop through somebody's belongings, _officer_, you might want to be a little stealthier. We have to live _together_. I am so sorry that this pathetically small dorm room isn't the overly large house you're accustomed to…"

"First, _WHY are you saying all these words? _Secondly, excuse me?"

"That's right, I Googled you."

"Oh, well, look who should be the detective now" I say with venom lacing my voice.

"Do you even know how to be nice? Is there a messy cold storage shed where your heart should be? You know what, don't answer that. I know the answer"

"I thought you were supposed to be Pre-Med? Shouldn't you understand that I wouldn't be alive if that were the case? I thought you were smart. And, aw, was your comment supposed to hurt my wee little feelings?"

"I doubt I could find your feelings with the Hubble telescope. No wonder you don't have friends."

"What's that? I couldn't hear you over all the _nerd _you were spewing." I'm quite proud of myself at this response and it seems to take Holly aback for a moment. The features on her face shift a bit and then return to the clear mask they were prior to my comment. She climbs up my ladder and sits on the end of my bed and begins eating a bag of pretzels sloppily.

"Hey, get the hell out of my bed!"

"Am I invading your space with my mess?" she smiles sweetly at me.

"Fine, _Holly_, I get your fucking point. I'll keep my cheese puff fingers on my side of the room."

Her face falls as she realizes that I've totally missed the point, again. Which, of course, makes me smile triumphantly.

"Oh, shit…" she says as she drops a pretzel on my bed and smashes it. "How could I be so clumsy?"

This girl with her shit-eating grin was on my last nerve. She took every venom-laced phrase and tossed one right back at me. Her wit seemed to match my own. It was absolutely infuriating. She was absolutely infuriating.

"Fine. Fine. I will use my shower caddy and I'll try to keep my half of the room more orderly. However, in exchange, I will start not giving a shit when you want to go to bed at 22:00. I'll be loud as hell because why should I care? I'm not the one who wants to get up at five o'clock in the morning to go out on a jog."

I beam a smile at her again, but it's fake and she knows it. She narrows her eyes at me and replies,

"I guess I'll just have to be incredibly loud when I get ready for my morning jog, then."

"Go ahead, I could sleep through a hurricane."

She clearly realizes what I've already realized—that we are at a standstill, dead even. Nobody is going to win this battle today. She continues to sit on my bed, probably thinking it annoys me, but for some reason it doesn't. She's infuriating and I might hate her…but….

She sure is hot as hell.


	2. Chapter II

I am shaken violently awake by a horrific noise I can barely even describe. I reluctantly open my left eye in order to see the time. It was 4:43 in the morning. What the hell was this noise? I shuffled to the edge of my lofted bed and peered down. Holly had a pot and a wooden spoon and she was standing in the middle of our shared room dancing and banging it loudly, clearly to a song only in her head.

"What the fuck are you doing, genius? And might I add your dance moves are atrocious."

"Working out, cardio. Arms working to bang the spoon to the pot, legs used to dance. I had to get my work out in somehow. For some reason I was too tired to run. I'm not sure why I couldn't sleep…it could be because someone was blasting hideous music and singing horribly at top of her lungs. You wouldn't happen to know this asshole, would you? Also, I am a fabulous dancer."

"I can't imagine any asshole that would do something like that, no. It sounds dreadful. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going back to sleep."

I plug my headphones into my iPod and turn up the volume until I can no longer hear her frightful noise. I smile a triumphant grin at her and then close my eyes. I open my eyes again in a small sliver to see that she has stopped dancing around with that stupid pan and smile to myself again. It feels good to win this small battle. One victory for Team Gail.

Then I feel my bed shaking. She's climbing up my ladder. I feel her crawling above me on my legs and when she gets to my knees she sits down with her legs crossed. I notice that she has brought some sort of nerdy medical journal up with her and she looks quite content to stay in this position for hours.

"You must love being in my bed with me, I keep finding you here" I groan out as her weight settles on my legs.

"Well, I find it is the easiest way of annoying since you're so lazy that you rarely leave it" she says nonchalantly as she flips the page of her journal.

"Clearly not due to laziness. I have to hide up here from the monster that lives beneath this safe haven that is my loft. Unfortunately, that monster has learned how to climb ladders. My life is a small slice of heaven."

"Mmm, the evolutionary prerogative to adapt is fascinating."

Did I mention how much she infuriates me? She just takes my jabs and either throws them back with a different spin or acts as if they don't bother her whatsoever. She's just sitting on the back of my legs like she has no cares in the world. I swallow hard while I consider a reply.

"Yes, you started off as an _Australopithecus afarensis _and evolved to _Homo erectus. _Either way, Holly, you're still thousands of years behind on the evolutionary scale."

"Now who is spewing nerd?"

"I read it in one of _your _nerd books."

"Ah, that would certainly explain why some of my books have orange cheese puff dust. I see you didn't take my tip on stealthier snooping."

"Like I would ever listen to anything _you say" _I mention offhandedly and shift under her weight. I roll over so that I'm lying on my back and in an effort to ride the wave I had created. Holly drops her medical journal down and clings to my leg with her right hand and her left hand brushes up my torso to the underside of my breast. I quickly manage to stifle a moan as the heat of her hand sends my mind spinning. I don't have time to consider what that means because Holly's eyes are burning holes into me and I know I need to come up with a reply quickly in order for her to break her eye contact.

"What are you, a professional surfer?"

"I have never surfed but I am positive I would be far better than you."

"What _exactly _makes you think you could ever be better than me at anything?"

"Gail, you're the most uncoordinated person I've ever met."

I am not even sure how to argue this point. I am really uncoordinated. She would just poke fun at me more for attempting to deny it.

"So…Holly…" you attempt cordially. "Are you going to sit on me all day, or what?"

"No, just until you have to get ready for class. I'd absolutely hate for you to fall back asleep. How would I pass the time before my first class without your own special packaged brand of difficulty and snark? Also, I've worked hard to keep you awake just as you so nicely did for me last night. Isn't karma a charming little creature?"

Holly picks her medical journal back up and continues reading as if she was in some sort of comfort zone. I groan and put my pillow over my face. In the little cocoon I had created for myself I was left alone with my own thoughts and the weight of Holly on top of me. I couldn't stand her, that much was for sure. She was an annoying, egotistical, bossy, know-it-all. How could anyone like somebody like that? Yet at the same time I felt as if I was drawn to her. It almost seemed as if she was something I knew was bad for me. It annoyed me that I appeared to be slightly addicted to her and it infuriated me that I couldn't get her off my mind. It was absolutely exasperating. How could someone who pissed me off so much have such a hold on me? I actually enjoyed annoying her. Most days, however, she was just down right annoying. This morning was definitely one of those cases.

"Holly, my legs are going numb"

"Oh, that sucks" she says yet continues to sit still on my legs and read her journal.

I lift the pillow off of my face and steal a glance at Holly. She is intently reading her journal but a small smile is tugging at her lips. She clearly finds great amusement in harassing me, I've deduced.

"What are you reading?" I croak out.

She flips to the title of the article.

"_Fracture of the Cricoid as Potential Pointer to Homicide: A 6-Year Retrospective Study of Neck Structures Fractures in Hanging Victims"_

"Again, I am forced to ask, why are you saying all these words?"

"You requested the title" she grins.

"Well, since I am evidently stuck with you, you could at least tell me what the hell whatever you just gushed out meant."

"Well, it is exceptionally hard to determine if a hanging was suicidal or homicidal. This study is looking at the cricoid cartilage in the neck to see if it can help identify strangulation by homicide. Out of all reviewed cases of suicidal hangings, the cricoid cartilage remained in tact. Yet in 65.4 percent of homicidal hangings it was fractured. They are, therefore, postulating that if the cricoid cartilage is fractured in an apparent suicidal hanging the police should consider it to be highly suspicious and look further into the case."

"Right, well, leave it to you to be reading about morbid things before six o'clock in the morning."

"Does it offend you that I like to educate myself? After all, isn't that why we are here?"

"No, Holly, we are here because you're an incredibly annoying person who decided it was a good idea to wake me up and then come sit on me all before six in the morning."

"Mmm" she smiles at me. "Well, I _would_ be out for a jog but some rock star decided to party with herself until the wee hours of the morning like an inconsiderate asshole."

"Well, you shouldn't have yelled at me about the damn shower caddy. Get over it."

"Get over it, eh?" she says as she digs her nails into my thigh.

"_Really Holly? _Ow, stop!"

"Get over it."

"You know, we both live here. That means that we both have to agree on something when it comes to _our _room. I refuse to agree to your silly OCD commands."

"May I remind you, you did agree to the shower caddy."

"Whatever. Get over the shower caddy. It's not exactly going to cause an apocalypse."

I huffed and puffed as I struggled to get out from underneath her and she just laughed at my in-vain efforts.

"Holly, it's not funny. I need to pee."

She simply continued laughing at me as she focused her eyes back on her article.

"Holly, come on! I need to get ready and I have to pee!"

"Oh, alright, but only because you seem so _desperate_."

She flashed me her shit-eating grin and then worked her way off of me in what I imagine was the most painful way for me that she could manage. When she made her way down the ladder I reluctantly followed. I made my way to our small bathroom and completed my morning routine. I tossed her shower supplies as well as mine all over the floor of the shower on my way out, grinning to myself.

I made my way to my dresser to collect my clothes for the day. When I opened my panties drawer I realized they were all gone.

"Holly, what the fuck! Seriously? Where did you put my panties?"

She just grinned at me, winked, and said "good luck" as she left the room.


	3. Chapter III

**Thank you all for all the reviews, follows and favorites. Also, a big thank you to TheRuffian for being an awesome beta on this chapter. (: **

* * *

I walk into our room after a long and chafing day of classes. I say chafing because I had to go with no panties. Why? Well, because Holly not only stole all of mine and hid them like a ninja, but because she also hid all of her panties, as well.

"Well, good afternoon you goddamn panty raider. Thanks for the chafing, I'm absolutely miserable" I spew at her unhappily.

She is sitting at her desk with her glasses propped up on the top of her head and she is reading from a textbook while taking notes. She turns around and beams me a wide grin.

"Mmm, I hear they have a cream for that, Gail."

"Har har har, very funny."

"Plus, if I was truly raiding your panties, you would know" she says and then winks at me.

I can't manage to verbalize any sort of response to that so I simply walk to the middle of the room and fling off my bag and shoes because I know this behavior annoys the hell out of her. She peers over at me and shakes her head at my actions. I see a flash of annoyance cross her features but she quickly smooths them over and returns to her studying as if I hadn't bothered her at all.

"So…" she ventures "do you need me to take you to the closest pharmacy for that anti-itch cream now?"

I can hear the amusement in her voice and it just irritates me further.

"No, _Holly_, what I need for you to do is tell me where the hell you put my panties."

"Where is the fun in that, I wonder?"

"Seriously? I looked all over this damn room this morning and couldn't find them. I was late to class. You're not being cute or funny just tell me where the hell they are."

"All over?" She smiles bemusedly at me. "Perhaps you should have checked that shower caddy that you utilize _so often_."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Again with the shower caddy?"

I storm into the bathroom and grab the shower caddy that is stashed underneath a pile of my towels on one of my two designated shelves. Sure enough my panties are filling the shower caddy to the brim. I stomp back out and stash my panties back in their proper place holding one out to put on. I grab a new pair of jeans out of my drawer and change quickly. I then throw my dirty jeans on the floor of my closet so Holly can yell at me later about how I should use my laundry hamper. I walk over to my desk and rip into a new bag of cheese puffs. I chew as loudly as cheese puffs will allow and wait impatiently for Holly's reaction.

"Must you chew so loudly? You chew like a horse. Actually, wait, that's an insult to horses."

"It suddenly surprises you that I am not a 'delicate flower'? I thought you were perceptive."

Holly plugs in her headphones and returns to her studying. She still has her glasses upon the top of her head so I know she won't be able to see my reflection in her peripheral vision in the corners of her glasses. With a grin, a plan formulates in my mind. I place my bag of cheese puffs down on my desk and wipe my hands on a nearby napkin. I stand up from my chair and enter a crouching position. Holly is fully entrenched in her studying so I am fairly confident that she will not see me. I stop part way to her desk and pull my iPod out of my pocket and find a metal song with the most amount of screaming I can remember and turn it up to full volume. I finish sneaking over to her desk and quickly remove her headphones from her iPod and place them into mine. I can instantly hear the screaming music and loud metal guitar and drums. Holly jumps up from her desk, shrieks, and smacks her knee on the crummy plywood. Of course, I immediately burst into laughter.

"_FUCK!" _she howls out. "That was low, Gail, even for you" she says, clearly exasperated. She clutches her left knee and sits back down in her chair.

"Aww, did the poor baby get a boo boo? Do you need someone to kiss it better?" I say in my best creepy Aunt tone. While I say this jokingly I can't help but thinking that I really would like to kiss her knee better.

"There is no veracity in a kiss to make something that has been injured feel better. I think I'll go with the proven method of icing."

I can't help but feeling a bit proud of myself. Up until this point Holly definitely had the upper hand in our games to put each other on edge. The panty-raiding thing was undoubtedly her crowning achievement. I would have never pegged this girl for a brilliant mastermind of mischievous acts yet all the evidence strongly suggested she was. I couldn't help feeling a little bad that she had hurt herself, though. I strolled over to the tiny fridge/freezer combination and pulled out an ice pack and wrapped it in a clean dishrag and walked it over to Holly's side of the room. In a moment of unprecedented sincerity I mumbled out,

"I didn't mean for you to hurt yourself." I gently place the ice pack on her knee. "I just wanted to annoy the shit out of you and possibly burst your ear drums" I smile sheepishly.

"You're totally right, bursting my ear drums would hurt so much less than this" she chastises me in a stern voice but I can see the twinkle in her eye.

"You know, that twinkle in your eye gives you away."

"Gives me away? A twinkle in the eye is merely a reflected particle of light seen in that eye that travels at the speed of light. The speed of light is 983,571,056 feet per second. So what you're seeing is a reflection of light travelling so quickly the reflection occurs in about a billionth of a second which is faster than that of your blink speed which is about 300 to 400 milliseconds for a full blink. So, if you blink you'll miss a true twinkle of the eye."

I stare at her lips as she is nerding out on me. The way in which her mouth moves is fascinating. She seems to talk mostly out of the left side of her mouth and sometimes, if she was slow to break into a full smile, her grin would begin lopsided to the left and work its way across her lips in a wave. I would never tell her this, but I strove to elicit that grin from her. It was incredibly endearing.

"You're not even listening. Far be it for me to assume that you would actually want to learn anything."

"Nerd."

"Slacker."

"I am not! Take it back!"

"Slacker."

"Holly! Take it back!" I say as I lean into her and I begin vigorously tickling her. The tickling provokes no response, to which I am very disappointed.

"What are you, a robot?"

"Yes," she says huskily "Do you want to know where my on/off switch is?"

I notice that her eyes darken and her tongue slips out of the right side of her mouth and licks her bottom lip before she gently sucks her lip into her mouth and bites down on it. I take a sharp intake of breath and I can hear my blood rushing and my heart beating faster. I try to compose myself so I can formulate a coherent response.

"Yes, Holly, I would love to know where this switch is," I say, truthfully. "The off part would be really useful" I grin at her and push away from her using the back of her chair.

I must admit to myself, however, I really just want to know where the switch to turn her on is.


	4. Chapter IV

**Thanks again to TheRuffian for being the beta on this chapter and telling me it's good even when I am fully convinced it's not. (:**

* * *

I have been in the shower for a long time now. Mainly because I know Holly absolutely needs to shower and she will be late to class if she doesn't get to use the restroom to get ready in a timely fashion. Also, because the hot water feels delightful on my sore muscles. Holly made sure I was up again at the ridiculous hour of 4:45 as she prepared to go out on her jog. I figured I'd just go out on this jog with her because there was nothing else to do at this ludicrous hour. I stupidly figured 'Oh, what could it hurt? This type of stuff is good for you' the answer was _everything_. It could hurt everything. My legs and butt felt as if I had put them through a grinder. I had desperately and hopelessly tried to out run Holly—as if I could outrun someone who goes out on jogs every morning _for fun. _I am quite certain my incredibly high level of competitiveness is going to get me killed someday. I was rocking out to _Baba O'Riley_ in the shower and singing along at top volume and I could still hear that crazy girl banging on the door. She was shouting things at me through the door but, thankfully, I couldn't decipher the actual words.

_I don't need to fight!_

_To prove I'm right!_

_I don't need to be forgiven._

_Don't cry._

_Don't raise your eye._

_It's only teenage wasteland._

This is what I am belting out when the shower curtain is ripped back quickly and a burst of cold air falls over my skin. I jerk my head around to the left to see Holly standing in the doorway of the shower.

"Holly, are you fucking kidding me?"

"I need to shower. So what's going to happen here is you're going to get the hell out and move on considering you've already been in here for thirty minutes. Or I'm going to come in and shower with you because I have to get the hell out of here. Your choice."

I feel a wave of stubbornness wash over me. Why should I have to give up my shower so easily? Perhaps it would make her ridiculously uncomfortable to be forced to shower with me.

"I'm not going anywhere, nerd."

Her eyes darken for a second. It's almost not even long enough for me to notice it—but I do—before she manages to compose herself.

"Could we please turn this music down? It's like a goddamn rock concert in here."

"Since you're invading my shower, I am going to go with hell no."

I see her unwrap the towel she has wrapped around her body and put it on the counter next to the shower stall. She steps into the shower and I have to continuously remind myself to keep my eyes on her face, a task I am finding far more difficult than I would have imagined.

"Back up, water hog. You're already soaking wet and you're stealing all of the water," she says as she tugs my arm to pull me away from the hot stream of water.

I stumble backwards a bit and manage to barely catch myself against the back wall of the stall.

"Thanks, jackass, you almost made me fall on my ass."

"See, this shower is too small for one person and Gail's shower products much less two people."

"Let me guess, you're talking about the fucking shower caddy again. What is it with you? Do you want to have a torrid love affair with that thing? You sure do talk about it enough."

She is scrubbing her hair with her back turned towards me. My mind keeps warning me that I should keep my eyes up, unfortunately my eyes will have no part in this and they slowly slide down her body, studiously appraising it. What I've learned after my evaluation is that I am pretty confident she isn't real, her body must have been carved by Michelangelo or something. This type of perfection doesn't exist in a real person. I poke her arm and she quickly turns her head around to look at me.

"Can I help you?"

"Nope, I was just checking to make sure you were real and not made out of marble or something."

"You are some kind of strange," she says and turns her head back towards the front of the stall to add conditioner to her hair.

"You know, Holly, you're taking up too much room in this shower. How am I supposed to shave?"

"You've been in here for thirty five minutes and you're telling me you haven't bothered to shave, Big Foot?"

"Well, I was going to try to be less of a hairy beast _just for you_, but now screw you."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

My jaw drops at this statement and I can't seem to formulate any coherent response, witty or otherwise.

"Unfortunately for you, I wouldn't allow a hairy orangutan into my bed. _So_ sad."

"You're missing out, Holly. You're missing out."

She turns her head towards me and flashes her trademark lopsided grin then steps back under the water to rinse the conditioner out. She then lathers up her loofa and begins quickly scrubbing her body.

"Could you get my back?"

"Gross, Holly. But I _guess _I will since who knows when the last time your back got a proper cleaning. No wonder you smell so foul."

She hands me the loofa but my hand is shaking too much to receive it and I drop it. We both lean down to grab it at the same time and crack our heads together.

"Damn your clumsiness, Gail."

"Whatever, your ridiculously hard head probably just gave me a concussion. I think I see stars. It's like a galaxy in here."

She shoves the loofa back into my hand and makes sure I have a firm grip on it before she lets go of it. As she does so her long fingers brush over mine and I stand there frozen.

"Are you going to get my back, or what? I have to get out of here I'm going to be late."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

I manage to say, though my mouth is very dry. I quickly scrub her back and rinse out the loofa. She snatches it out of my hand.

"Thanks, that was fun. Shower buddies, forever."

Holly says to me, sarcasm lacing her voice as she steps out of the shower. She wraps herself in her towel and reaches back in the shower to grab her caddy out.

"See how easy a shower caddy is to use? So simple…"

"Fucking shower caddy," I mumble.

"Okay, angora rabbit, you can remove all your fur now. Enjoy. I'll see you later."

She winked at me and left the bathroom closing the door behind her.

Goddamn that girl. Why did she have to wink at me and suggest further shower appearances together? She truly is a magnificent bastard. Even if it was said sarcastically it has my mind spinning uncontrollably. I've never had any sort of feelings for anyone of the female sex before, plus she drove me absolutely crazy. So why were these feelings for her creeping up on me? She hadn't really done anything to indicate she had any feelings for me whatsoever.

I didn't know much. What I did know was that I had feelings for Holly and I am totally, unabashedly, flummoxed by her.


	5. Chapter V

**AN: Sorry for the wait. Writer's block can be excruciatingly annoying. I will make a magnificent effort to get the next chapter out in a more timely manner.**

* * *

I am not sure why I pay such a ridiculous amount of money for a college education when I just spent my entire day in class daydreaming about my roommate. Obviously I am paying this tuition simply to live in the dorms. This was an amazingly expensive living situation for such a tiny shit hole of a room-my tuition dollars being put to great use.

I had been out running with Holly every morning this week and I was exhausted. The fact that this meant I was losing battles and, thus, our war didn't escape the competitive majority of me. I threw my punches, to be sure—but Holly was slippery as hell. She had this hold over me that I couldn't shake. Sure, I was cranky as shit when she did her usual morning routine of purposefully waking me up far too early. Yet each time she did it the level of my crankiness was dialed down a bit more internally. Naturally, I'd never let her know, so I threw over embellished and childish hissy fits. Unfortunately, she didn't even respond to my antics, negative or otherwise. She simply continued making her noise and expected me to get up. Of course, I always did. I would sluggishly pull on my running gear and we would go on our usual route. Every morning I tried to out-run her and every morning she slaughtered me and then proceeded to stomp on my remains by laughing at me—but I was catching up. She never went easy on me, she always gave one hundred percent. She also never toned down her victory dance and endless teasing. The devious twinkle in her eye was contagious and her limitless playful banter simply made me want to win more. I wondered if this meant I was winning a little bit in the shadows. Something she was doing to annoy me I had turned around and made it my own mission—my mission to finally crush her at her own game.

I lethargically made my way back to the dorm. Thinking about Holly through four classes was draining. In fact, Holly herself was draining. I unlocked the door to the room fully expecting there to be life on the other side. Holly usually got out of class about an hour before I did and she didn't seem to have much of a social life to speak of. Sometimes she leads a study group but I knew she didn't have one today. I had been looking forward to allowing Holly to pick a documentary and then ceaselessly making fun of her for being such a nerd as I inwardly enjoyed the knowledge it provided. Not to mention the way Holly smiled and laughed when we watched them. She would provide extra knowledge not covered in the documentary to me during almost every single program we viewed. She wasn't here, though. I wondered if I should be worried as I shrugged off my jacket and tossed my boots next to the door. I decided it wasn't impossible that she could be out simply having fun or studying for a big upcoming exam. I grabbed a Vitamin Water out of our little fridge, turned on the television and my PS3 and then flopped myself down on the futon. I had decided I would pass the time playing video games until Holly came home. I played _Medal of Honor_ for a few hours until I was fidgeting too much to focus. The room was very quiet and lonely without Holly here to sass me. I yanked the throw blanket off the back of the futon and wrapped myself up in it. I turned on National Geographic's _Egypt: Quest for Eternity_. Holly and I had just watched this together last week but I had missed most of the program due to the distraction she provided. She had been sitting closer to me than usual so we could share the tiny throw blanket I had now used to turn myself into a burrito. There wasn't even a centimeter of space between us and her body felt warm pressed upon mine. She had her hand resting on my knee as if it were the most natural and easy thing in the world to her. If only she had known the profound effect that carelessly placed hand had on me. I swore that by the end of the documentary I would have a hand-shaped burn on me—the likes of which Castiel gave Dean Winchester. The only thing I remembered about this documentary was the feel of Holly's body pressed against mine, the enchanting smell of the mingling of her shampoo and body wash and the sing-song sound of her voice whenever she expanded upon the knowledge existing in the documentary—too bad I missed the actual information.

I sat on the same futon, under the same blanket, watching the same documentary without her and everything felt so empty. I actually managed to soak in the information presented to me regarding how modern looting was ruining the works of ancient Egypt—but I missed Holly's brain and the knowledge that flowed from it (even if they both were incredibly annoying). At the end of the hour long documentary I was displeased to see she still wasn't home. I made my way to the bathroom hoping a hot shower would relieve my mind's worries. I grabbed the shower caddy with the intent of actually putting my products into it and carrying it out at the end of the shower. After all, I could do this one nice thing for Holly, couldn't I? I hopped in the shower and the hot water cascaded down my body—but it didn't manage to wash away thoughts of her. I hadn't yet figured out why this girl had such a hold on me. Perhaps it was because she played my games instead of running from them—and in fact—she often bested me at them. Maybe it was because when I looked at her in a certain way she looked back at me in kind. Perhaps it was her enticing smile or her infectious laugh. I hoped I wasn't seeing what I wanted to see—what I needed to see. I wanted so badly to believe the looks, smiles, and laughs were presented to me because she felt something for me beyond friendship—beyond that which you feel for a mere roommate. As I quickly ran the loofa over my body I missed the way she moved the loofa over my back. I realize how odd it is to have a roommate shower with you, but it has become almost a natural game for us. I would take too long, she would get impatient, and then she would appear in all of her glory. Words cannot describe how glorious she truly was—soft in all the right places—yet strong and muscular. She was tall, lean, and flawless. I wasn't sure there was anything more beautiful in the world than Holly with water dripping down her face and neck then pooling in the valley between her collar bones (which she had informed me was called the suprasternal notch). It became clear to me that showering wasn't really the option if I wanted to get Holly off my mind. I quickly finished washing up and haphazardly threw my belongings in the shower caddy. I climbed out, toweled dry and wrapped the towel around myself. A smile crept across my lips as I heard the key in the lock to front door of the room. I tossed my shower caddy on the shelf and hurried to the door to exit the bathroom. The bathroom opened into the small entryway to the dorm room. In my haste to exit the bathroom I flung the door open much quicker than intended and ran into Holly's back. My towel almost fell and my hands moved impossibly quickly to catch it before it slipped off my body. Holly let out a shriek, as did the girl she had pressed against the wall. The girl she had pressed against the fucking wall, whom she was wildly making out with.

"Gail, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I live here, you know. What is _she _doing here?" I said with disdain lacing my words.

"Last time I checked I live here, too. I guess that means I can bring whomever I wish into this room."

A fake sugary sweetness filled her voice and a sloppy smile contorted her features. I yanked her hand to pull her towards me and I noticed that her pupils were dilated and she smelled of vodka. She slowly licked her bottom lip and stared at me.

"Gail, what? Can't you be a good roommate for once in our entire time living together and get the hell out of here?"

"Now, Holly" I shook my head "that just doesn't sound like me at all. How _dare you_ bring some skank here to our room? I mean, I know we've been having problems lately, honey, but cheating isn't the answer."

I flashed her my best shit-eating grin and watched a dumbfounded look cross her features. This was certainly new for me…I had elicited many reactions from Holly but, to be honest, I didn't even know that her intelligent brain would ever allow for dumbfounded. I was quite pleased with myself—despite being completely pissed with her for bringing home an uglier version of me.

"Hey, crazy roommate bitch…maybe she wants to be with me tonight."

"Aw, skankasaurus" I said with mock sympathy, "I highly doubt that."

I grabbed Holly's belt and pulled her flush up against me. I leaned in ever so slowly towards her ear and whispered,

"Sorry, I don't think you're going to be getting lucky tonight."

And I kissed her. Just like that. I moved my lips from her ears, brushing them gently down her jawline until I captured her lips with my own. Holly's lips didn't move against mine at first but after a second or so she pressed them into mine with a passion and haste as if she had just caught fire. I heard a small whimper catch in her throat before pushing through her lips. Her tongue slid past my lips and I was glad that I was able to stifle the moan I wanted to release. I flattened my hands against Holly's hips and slowly pushed her away to break the kiss. I opened my eyes and looked deeply into hers. In her eyes I saw a brooding storm of lust and the intensity of her stare made me uncomfortable. I unlocked my eyes from hers and looked over her shoulder at Bimbo Barbie and motioned towards the exit with my hand.

"You can exit the way you entered. Have a _pleasant _evening and thanks for bringing my cupcake home safely. Toodles!" I flashed a condescending smile at her and watched her stalk out of the room. I broke my embrace with Holly and walked over the door to lock it behind the joker.

"Well, that was rude of you, you're not a very good hostess" Holly slurred out.

"Oh yeah, how dare I stop you from having meaningless sex that you'll totally regret and hate yourself for in the morning. I'm the absolute _worst_."

I tugged at her belt loops to bring her to the bathroom. I pushed her in gently and shut the door to go grab her something a little more comfortable. I opened the door to the bathroom and saw Holly slumped over the sink splashing her face with water.

"Here, I brought you a change of clothes, genius."

She didn't say anything and I found myself speechless as well so I exited the bathroom. I removed the towel I was wearing through the entire awkward encounter and tossed on a large worn out t-shirt and a clean pair of panties before climbing into my loft bed. After a night like this I sure as hell deserved some sleep. I crawled into the safe haven my sheets provided and closed my eyes. It seemed odd to me that I was so wrong about Holly's feelings towards me. I had never been good with people but Holly turned my world upside down. I was a completely different person around her. Perhaps that was it—maybe I had finally seen Holly's true nature—the person she was outside of this room. Maybe she was different around me, too. I tried to convince myself that the person she showed me tonight was just who she was and that person wasn't worth having feelings for. While it lifted a small weight off my shoulders I also knew it wasn't the truth. The girl I saw everyday was Holly. Whoever this was, was a false creation and an idiotic response to alcohol. I had never known Holly to drink so I could hardly fathom what the hell had happened to cause her to do so. My thoughts were cut short when I felt the ladder on my bed shaking. Holly crawled into my bed and stared at me.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," she whispered.

I didn't know what to say. I was so pissed at her I didn't want to be anywhere near her but at the same time the only place I wanted her to be was right beside me.

"You kissed me" she lets out breathlessly.

"I kissed you to get boom-boom-bitch out of our room."

"Is that the only reason?" I could hear the uncertainty stinging her voice and it made my resolve and anger crumble just a bit—but apparently not enough.

"Yes."


	6. Chapter VI

I am sick. I am so sick it's like I've got the bubonic plague. Smart-ass Holly insists that my symptoms do not match that of the plague and that I probably am "simply afflicted by the common cold" but I think she spews utter bullshit. So, to keep the record straight, I have contracted the Black Death. My voice sounds like I am a zombie speaking for the first time after being dead since the time of Alexander the Great. My body feels as if I laid on the Indy-500 track and let all the cars roll over me for 500 miles on an oval-shaped track. My head feels as if it has been placed in a medieval torture device. My throat feels like a peacock has shoved it's entire feathery plume down it—so I can't stop coughing. Holly tells me I'm being "melodramatic" I tell her she's being an "asshole". Needless to say, things are pretty much back to the way they were.

I woke up this morning with her arm flung across my chest. After her little drunken ladder climb into my loft and the answer I wish I could take back she had stayed, too worried about climbing back down, and she fell asleep in my bed. If I were to be honest with myself, I had to admit waking up next to her was delightful. Too bad I woke up next to her as sick as I am. Sickness translates to crankiness, naturally. So that's where we were now. I was blaming her for brining the Black Death home in the form of an ugly blonde. She was telling me I was being immature while rushing around and acting as my nurse. I can't really figure out why she was bothering to take care of me with as rude as I've been to her this morning—yet she was. She has spent the morning bringing me tissues, getting the dehumidifier set up, bringing me Vitamin Water for the electrolytes and throat soothing tea for the sore throat. Only a few minutes ago she was rubbing Vick's Vaporub on my chest and explaining to me that it was a topical analgesic that would help suppress my cough. I nodded along as if this was new information for me because my mind and body was caught on the fact that Holly's hand was a mere inch or two from my breasts. The cream she was spreading across my chest was cold—but her hand was burning a blazing path across my skin. I had let out an exasperated sigh that stopped Holly's hand in its track. I clambered to find a suitable response to the question in her eyes.

"Holly" I whined, "This is going to stain my t-shirt."

It was weak, and I knew it.

"No, it's non-greasy. See, says so right here on the bottle."

She held the bottle out to me with her finger pointing at the text.

"Yeah, well, your hand is greasy…so when it mixes with the cream it will make it icky and gross…and I really like this shirt."

"Very mature, Gail."

"Thank you."

I smiled at her triumphantly. She finished rubbing the cream across my chest and in the small area between my upper lip and nose and hopped down. She was making me soup in the microwave (which she called the "science oven")now, and humming along with the tune in her head.

"Hey, shouldn't it be me who is taking care of you. After all, you did appear to be _quite _drunk last night. I bet the hangover is killer."

I said this to her my voice thick and full of razors.

"I'm fine, Gail."

She mumbled the response out quietly and I instantly felt bad for my harshness. If only I was brave enough to ask her what caused her to go out and drink in the first place—it was so unlike her. If only I told her that I kissed her because I couldn't imagine doing anything else. If only I told her I kissed her because I wanted that girl to know that Holly was special to someone. She was more than a fling—she was more than a one-night stand. She was better than all of that and she was certainly better than that girl could ever dream of being. If only I was brave enough to tell her I said "yes" because I was angry with her even though I didn't have any right to be. After all, I never bothered to tell her my feelings about it. Didn't that negate my right to be angry with her for wanting something I never told her I was interested in giving her? If only the walls I'd spent my entire life constructing allowed me to show some of this vulnerability to Holly. Unfortunately the walls were triggered to engage at full defense when I experienced disappointment and anger and right now I was experiencing both. So I silence my emotions and quipped with my snark. She made me some sort of noodle soup. And by noodle soup I meant tiny little noodles in a yellow broth.

"Why are you giving me noodles that look like little sperm swimming in urine?"

"First of all, that's gross. Secondly, the acidity of urine would kill real sperm. Thirdly, it's Lipton's extra noodle soup. It's what I eat when I feel sick or sad. I don't know. I thought it would cheer you up and make you feel a bit better. Clearly I was wrong. I can't cure asshole."

And I was….I was an asshole. I wish I was brave enough to show Holly that there isn't a "messy cold storage shed" where my heart should be. That I could have feelings and that I did have feelings. I had feelings for her. I wish I could show her the pull she had on me. Instead I simply stared down at the soup and mumbled out what I am sure seemed like an entirely ungrateful thank you.

I scarfed down Holly's sickness and sadness remedy and had to admit to myself that I did feel a bit better. I handed the bowl down to her and she did what she always yelled at me for not doing, she washed it immediately and put it on the drying rack. She crossed the room and climbed up the ladder to my bed and sat at the foot. She pulled her knees up to her chest and bowed her head. She looked as if she was in wild contemplation...and she was gorgeous. I could stare at her for hours and never become bored. Her hair was cascading softly down her shoulders and brushing across her knees. She had her hands clasped around her knees as if she were clinging to them as a flotation device in rough seas. She exhaled a small sigh and looked over in my direction. Her eyes were burrowing deep into mine as if she were searching for my soul to see if I actually had one. She scrunched her eyebrows and bit her lip as if she believed that the next words out of her mouth needed to be perfect because if they weren't they would end the world. Outwardly, I waited patiently. Inwardly, I waited ill at ease. When she finally spoke my heart began a thundering beat so hard and loud I was sure it would launch from my chest.

"I don't usually drink. I don't know. I had a bad day and I handled it poorly."

I waited silently, hoping she would elaborate on her day, but she didn't. Were we not even close enough that she felt she could tell me about such things?

"Look, you saved me from making a mistake I definitely would have regretted last night and I owe you one, roomie."

That one word stung. "Roomie". Evidently I was truly wrong. She obviously didn't have feelings for me at all. I plaster a fake smile on my face before I reply,

"Well, it would have been really awkward for me. I mean, I would have been forced to listen to that drunken sexscapade. Then I would have had to listen to you scramble to get her out of your bed this morning, and it would have woken me up. So I was really just saving myself the trouble. I don't want you to think I was doing it for you, that would be absurd and so unlike me."

"Well, you are very selfish."

"I am, you can go and sleep with as many ugly girls as you want…just not in our room where I have to hear it."

"Can I, now?"

There was a smile tugging at the right corner of her lips and I could tell she didn't believe me.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead. Of course, really, there isn't enough alcohol in the world to get me into bed with the girl you came home with last night, but hey, I'm not you. Clearly my standards are a little higher."

"Oh, yeah?"

She was clearly amused now and I couldn't really figure out why.

"Yeah, I only kiss and have sex with models. And I would only date millionaire models."

"Is that so?"

Her grin widened.

"Absolutely." I deadpanned back at her.

"You kissed me."

Her lips were in a full-blown ear-to-ear smile now. Her nose crinkled a bit at the bridge. She looked fucking adorable.

Shit. My brain was scrambling to come up with a response. Clearly telling her that her sloppy drunk kiss sent a flash of color in front of my eyes and shivers throughout my body was not the way to go.

"Like…like I said. I had to get rid of that girl somehow and she was clinging to you like you were a lifeboat on the Titanic."

"Right, you said as much last night. The girl was really the only reason?"

Come on, Gail. All you need is ten seconds of outrageous courage. I willed strength to flow and straighten my spine. I willed the walls to crumble in my mind. I willed the gusto to return to my voice. I willed insane courage to make me whole. Plus, if it all blew up in my face I can blame the cold medicine for making me loopy. Come on, I just needed ten seconds.

1….

"No. Not the only reason."

2….


	7. Chapter VII

I could feel my courage wavering already.

3…

Why wasn't she saying anything?

4…

A deep intake of breath from her. She bites her lip.

5…

Come on Gail, perseverance!

6….

I lean in ever so slowly.

7…

I loop my arms around her waist and pull her to me.

8…

A wave of nervousness washes over me. I know if I kiss her now I have no excuse to fall back on if it all blows up in my face.

9…

Perseverance.

10…

I kiss her. She melts into me and it's glorious the way her lips feel upon mine. Not sloppy like last night. Firm and soft at the same time in a way I am certain is wholly Holly. I feel her tongue upon my lips and it is at this moment that I realize that she wants this as much as I do. Any doubts I had regarding her feelings for me dissipate and I deepen the kiss with my newfound courage given to me by this realization. Her moan is soft but it sounds like rolling thunder. Everything about her is like a beautiful perfect storm—inescapable and magnificent in its grandeur. I could drown in her kiss and I would be okay, I would feel like I lived a good life simply because I experienced this kiss. She withdrawals her tongue and places a short chaste kiss on my lips before breaking away.

I feel a cough rising in my throat and pull away from her to cover my mouth.

"Oh my gosh, Holly! I probably just gave you the bubonic plague! If both of us are infected it's going to be a pandemic. We could turn this campus into fourteenth century Europe!"

"Gail…" her voice was soft.

"I just turned us into a Black Death grenade!"

"Gail…"

"What?"

"You taste like lemon Alka Selzer and Vick's Vaporub."

"Oh…well usually I taste better, I promise. Plus, you're the one that made me drink that awful Alka Selzer. It made me sad in every single fiber of my being. "

"Yeah, well, you need to feel better, so I won't make you drink it anymore. Then 'every fiber of your being' can return to being happy. And what, pray tell, do you usually taste like?"

"Sunshine and happiness."

"You? Sunshine and happiness?"

She laughs a throaty laugh at me and I can't help but smile.

"Sarcasm and bitterness?"

She flashes me a full-wattage smile and its beauty blinds me.

"That sounds more like you. Don't worry about causing a Black Death pandemic—since you don't actually have the bubonic plague. Even if you did, medicine nowadays is far superior to that found in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Furthermore, this university doesn't have a large enough populace so I doubt the "Black Death grenade" that we have become won't kill 75 to 200 million people. I think the effect on campus will be quite minimal."

"Well, but people leave campus and they could take the plague with them and then spread it all over Canada!"

"You're insane, you know that, right?"

"Mmm, it's been mentioned in certain circles."

I flash her a smile as she traces languid circles on my shoulder with her fingertips. I lean into her touch and smile contentedly. A ray of sunshine falls upon her as it flashes through a open segment of the blinds. She looks thoroughly radiant in its glow.

"_But love the one you hold_

_And I'll be your goal_

_To have and hold_

_A lover of the light."_

I softly hum along with these lyrics as they play in my mind. She stops the circles on my shoulder and looks at me briefly.

"What's on your mind?"

"You are so beautiful."

I breathe out and the circles on my shoulder begin again. The touch of her finger to my skin feels like a spark of electricity. She leans in and places a soft and short kiss on my lips. I imagine that is her way of reciprocating my sentiment.

"I think I'd prefer the sarcasm and bitterness. I am starting to regret making you drink that lemon Alka Selzer. I wasn't aware it would come back to bite me."

"I just wanted to share the delight, Holly. I mean, that stuff tastes almost as good as a meal at a five star restaurant. _Almost._"

"Aw, Gail. You're _too _sweet to me. Is that the only reason you kissed me?"

"Well, yeah, of course. I thought you should feel the torture as I felt it. Then I considered that simply forcing you to drink it wouldn't be as fun. I thought you should have the taste second-hand…so I had to kiss you. Sad, though, as it was horrible for me—I mean I wanted it to end just as soon as it started. You're a terrible kisser. Just atrocious. Then I thought to myself that if I stopped kissing you only a second or two in that the true awfulness of the lemon Alka Selzer wouldn't hit you. So to be horrible to you…I had to persevere."

"Is that so?"

"Yep, and it appears to have worked."

I grin at her triumphantly.

"So if I were to kiss you again?"

"It would make me miserable. And since we hate each other…you should probably do that—immediately and for a long period of time."

"Oh should I?"

She flashes me a teasing smile, raises her eyebrows, and the lights in her eyes are dancing. Her fingers are still tracing patterns on my shoulder and I am lost in the sensation of it all. This girl sure did know how to make me swoon.

"Well, yes. I know you're always looking for the upper hand to win this little war we've been waging since we moved in together. This would certainly give you the edge. Forcing me to kiss you, considering how much I loathe you."

"You loathe me?"

"Yep, pretty much."

I nod vigorously and try to keep a stern look on my face even though a smile is tugging at the corners of my lips. She slides her hand up under my shirt and it blazes a path to the underside of my breast. I involuntarily let out a small gasp.

"You loathe me?"

She asks again, her voice husky. Her eyes have darkened and she looks impossibly sexy. I swallow hard.

"Mmmhmm, pretty much. Yep."

She kisses me and sends my entire world spinning.

* * *

_And in the middle of the night,_  
_I may watch you go._  
_There'll be no value in the strength_  
_Of walls that I have grown._  
_There'll be no comfort in the shade_  
_Of the shadows thrown._  
_But I'd be yours if you'd be mine._


	8. Chapter VIII

**AN: Thank all who read this story for the reviews. I have lacked the time to write recently so my apologies for the shortened chapters. Also, I am sorry if this chapter isn't as enjoyable with the banter as previous chapters my wit, like Gail Peck's in this chapter, has sorely failed me today. In any case, thank you all again for the reviews, favorites and follows and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses. (:**

* * *

I awoke to the sun streaming in through the blinds. I stretched out gloriously as I did every morning upon waking and knocked my hand into a still very much asleep Holly. The contact jostled her awake and she languidly stretched out before a lopsided grin broke across her face.

"Mmm, morning," she mumbled out before squeezing her eyes shut and curling up again.

"I had the strangest dream about you."

"Yeah?"

"Yep, you plied me with awful lemon flavored Alka Selzer. I wanted to get back at you so I kissed you to make you taste it. You were a terrible kisser though. Weird, since your lips aren't awful, I guess. I mean…not as bad as your other features which sort of show that you hit every single branch on the way down in your fall from the ugly tree."

She smiled bemusedly at me. How did she always know when I was fucking with her? Was she really that confident in how hot she is? I wish I could maintain that level of confidence in my own attractiveness…alas my confidence oftentimes failed me despite the bravado and arrogance I showed to everyone else.

"You mean like this?" she replied amusement lacing her melodic voice.

She leaned in, encircled her arms around my waist and kissed me like the world was ending tomorrow. Her kiss felt like desire and hope. It felt like sanity and insanity. It felt like light and dark. It felt like Earth and space. It felt like stars and sky. And the breathy moan she released was worthy of only the best poet's prose or the best lyricist's songs. Her embrace was like a warm sunrise after a harsh winter. How had I kept my lips away from her lips for such an infuriatingly long period of time? She broke the kiss, exhaled, and placed another slow calming kiss on my lips as her hand slid up my body finally ceasing its movement to cup my face. She broke the second kiss and whispered out in a husky voice that sent shivers down my spine,

"So I'm a terrible kisser?"

"Well, Holly, it is you that is always telling me to that in order to get an accurate result on something a researcher must have multiple samples to confirm or reject a hypothesis. I think we should use the scientific method to determine how good of a kisser you are. On a scale of one to ten though…we'll go with a three for now."

It was a lie. She was at least a five hundred and ninety three out of ten.

"Why, Gail Peck, are you trying to seduce me with nerd talk?"

"I don't know, is it working?"

"Yes, especially since you keep doing that thing with your tongue."

"That…thing….with…my…tongue? Really specific, Hol."

"I don't know…you open your mouth and move your tongue from the right side of your mouth to the left corner as if you're licking your upper lip…but you aren't because your tongue stays inside your mouth."

"Is that so?"

I flash a smile and do the "tongue thing" in slow motion and I chuckle when I feel her hand tremble against my cheek.

"Tease."

"You like it."

"Mmm, you forgot to tell me the best part of your 'dream', Gail."

"I'm guessing this wasn't actually a dream?"

"Oh no, you definitely kissed me. You also claimed you did it because of the Alka Selzer but we both know that was a lie. You also told me you loathed me…twice."

"Ah, yes, that sounds like me." A triumphant smile spreads across my face, quite pleased with my cold medicine high self.

"The best part, though," she pauses to smile at me. The smile is teasing one and I dread what she is about to say I did. "The best part is that you began by counting to ten out loud. You were literally whispering the numbers, quite slowly, with pauses between each number. Then after ten you kissed me. Were you trying to give me a count up to epicness or something?"

Her voice has the cadence of pure playfulness and her eyes are dancing with it. I can't help but to grin at how perfect she is when she's being playful. The slight dimple in her left cheek lends to her air of utter mischievousness and my mind is lost simply staring at her face, committing every slope and plane to memory. When I don't respond to her teasing she opens her mouth to speak again but I cut her off with a quick kiss which I break before she realizes what has happened and this time it is my turn to beam impishly at her whilst she stares back at me slack jawed.

"I had to remind myself that if I was able to manage ten seconds of outrageous courage I had the chance of possibly getting something I've been wanting for a while. I didn't actually realize I was counting aloud."

I tried to muster an appropriate amount of sarcastic edge to this comment so I could mask my softer side but it slid out as it was truly meant, tenderly. The idea of Holly's reaction to this exposure of my softer side terrified me. The reality of her reaction was far more Holly-esque in the sense that she always has a way of bringing light to a dark situation and it is this ability she has that allows me to feel safe in her presence. She listened to my words, thoughtfully pursing her lips towards the left corner of her mouth, allowing a moment of silence to settle between which gave a chance for the magnitude of that admission to settle over us like blanket. She squeezed my hand gently and smiled warmly.

"Well, I've wanted to kiss you since the moment you dragged your mother out of our dorm room and blew out an exasperated sigh and shrugged your shoulders at me as you pushed her out the door. You're incredibly adorable when you're exasperated."

"What?" I spat out, my voice reaching an entirely new octave. "All this time you let me sit here and struggle with my burning hatred and intense attraction for you and you knew all along and wanted to kiss me from the beginning?"

"You're not very subtle when you stare, Gail."

"I really do _loathe_ you."

"Uh huh, sure."

She drew out the last word and smirked mockingly at me. I wanted to wipe that smug look off her dimpled face but my brain wasn't cooperating in giving me a method to do so. I laid there glaring at her as my brain fumbled foggily for a solution.

"You're an asshole." I managed. Not my best retort, to be sure. Maybe it would buy me some time?

"Ye-AH! I've heard that one before."

"And you will about ten thousand more times because I loathe you, jerkface, asshat, dingleberry."

I swatted her shoulder and pushed myself away from her.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah! You smell like…like…bad stuff."

"Bad stuff?"

_Bad stuff? _What the fuck is wrong with me? _Bad stuff _was the best I could manage? Leave it to my wit to fail me now. For fuck's sake.

"You heard me…really, truly, terribly, _bad stuff."_

There it was again. I seriously needed to shut the hell up unless I could figure out something to say to wipe that damn look off her all-too-attractive face. I could tell she could see the frustration in my expression despite my sincerest attempts to mask it. That only caused further irritation. She could read me like a book and it was annoying.

"It's so fun and so easy to play with you."

Then it hit me. I knew how to wipe that smug smile off her face and replace it with something far more enjoyable. My hand wandered up beneath her shirt and my lips moved to her neck. I nipped and bit gently at her pulse point eliciting some amazingly attractive noises from her. My hand slid the last tiny bit up to cup her breast and I rolled over so I was on top of her. I hovered my mouth mere centimeters away from her lips, flicked my forefinger gently over her nipple, and dropped my voice down an octave before uttering my well crafted statement.

"Oh, darling, I could think of _much_ better ways to play with _you."_

Her smile faded, her lips parted, and her tongue darted out to wet them. It was quite possibly the sexiest thing I've ever seen and it was, by far, my sweetest victory.

* * *

_The world was on fire and no-one could save me but you._  
_It's strange what desire will make foolish people do._  
_No, I'd never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you._


	9. Chapter IX

Holly had already left for class this morning. It was Friday and I, unlike her, didn't have Friday classes. This gave me the opportunity to lazily lie in bed while last night's events replayed in my mind. Of course I had seen her naked before, but not like that. Never like that. The sweat glistened on her neck and chest and made her shimmer. The tanned skin across her chest flushed red as the effort of her exertions took its toll. It was glorious the way her shoulder muscles rippled as she moved above me. She kept her left hand tangled in my hair and her eyes upon mine at all times. Her stare was disconcerting, yet at the same time I couldn't break it. I needed her to see what she seemed to so desperately be searching for—the effect she had upon me. I had never come so completely undone. Holly could shatter my world with one glance and the sound of her moans…god, I'd give up anything to hear those again, to be the cause of them again. The way she darted her tongue out to lick her lips after kissing me. The way she bit down on her bottom lip before she tumbled so sweetly over the edge into bliss. The sound of my name on her tongue breathlessly uttered as it mingled with moans and whimpers. When pure bliss hit her like a rogue wave I thought, in that moment, that nations would go to war for this girl—Helen of Troy had nothing on Holly. I certainly would go to war for her—I did last night. It was a battle of wills and I crumbled beneath hers. She searched for begging and I tried desperately and, in the end, futilely not to give in. She earned it with every flick of her tongue and every thrust of her fingers, every kiss to my neck, and every gentle tug of my hair. I couldn't get enough of her even if I devoured her whole. I roughly left my mark on her neck so when people saw this gorgeous creature they would know she was taken, that she was desired, that somebody couldn't get enough of her, but, above all, that she was perfect. She had made a fuss about it this morning but her twinkling eyes and the smile tugging at the corner of her lips betrayed the façade her voice tried to portray. When she climbed back up my ladder to kiss me goodbye she kissed me as if the apocalypse was coming and she needed the memory of my kiss to survive—as if she wanted me to know that if I died today I would have lived a life worth living because I had experienced a kiss like that. Trust me, I was fully aware. I disintegrated underneath the weight of that kiss. I pleaded with her to skip class and allow me to commit every inch of her statuesque body into my memory once again. Too bad Holly was ever the responsible being. She simply chuckled good naturedly at my pleas, shimmied down my ladder and sauntered her way out of the room moving her hips in a way she knew would make me swoon.

Here I was an hour later in the exact same spot she left me. I wondered if she was having trouble concentrating in class. I hoped she was—I wanted her to be thinking about last night the same way I was. Actually, I knew she was—that kiss before she left told me it would be on her mind all day. I smiled to myself and grabbed my phone.

"_We're going out tonight, nerd."_

"_Do I have no say?"_

I laughed aloud at this. Watching Holly play hard to get was like watching Wile E. Coyote as he tried to get the Road Runner, it was a fucking disaster.

"_None at all, deal with it."_

"_Fine, you've convinced me. I guess you're hot enough to be my Friday night girl."_

This girl was goddamn ridiculous.

"_By the way, I noticed the shower caddy. Was that really so hard?"_

"_Don't push it, Stewart. Pay attention to your class, overachiever."_

"_Well, I would, but some crazy person keeps texting me."_

"_And you keep responding. Whipped, much?"_

"_Maybe, but only because you're so damn good in bed."_

Suddenly my face was on fire. Clearly she had been thinking about the previous night. I pumped my fist up in the air as a small token of my appreciation for my own victory and worked out plans for the evening in my head. I desperately wanted to impress Holly and I sought to make the experience a unique one. This was so unlike me and I worried that I'd regret it. I had walls for a reason. I had a snarky shell for protection. I wasn't the type of person who went out on a limb for anybody else's happiness. Usually I was content to stay in the tree for a fleetingly short amount of time and when the tree seemed stifling I had to flee. I was very good at running and nobody bothered to chase me. Perhaps that was it? Maybe I thought Holly would chase me if I decided to leap out of that tree. Maybe, before the fear set in, I was trying to solidify that she would by trying my hardest to reel her in. Running was always inevitable to me…but Holly seemed inevitable to me, too. I had never met anyone who could so systematically crash through my walls. She was able to rile me up, yes, but she also had a complete calming effect upon me. One flash of her lopsided grin could turn my sour mood positive. That had to be inescapable, right? Holly was different, wasn't she? She had to be. She had to be the one to chase me—and she had the to be the one I would try my goddamn best not to run from. So I planned this evening meticulously. It was odd for me because I had never planned a date before and I hoped like hell I was some semblance of good at it.

* * *

Holly came home a few hours later and I ambushed her at the entrance to the dorm room. She kissed me heatedly before accidentally dropping her bag on my feet, mid-kiss.

"Ouch!"

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry."

She was laughing so hard I thought she might choke.

"Oh yeah, Holly, you seem really broken up. What if you had shattered the delicate bones in my feet? Tonight would be no fun if I was in a wheel chair."

"Gail…" she kissed me…"You are such…" she kissed me again… "a drama queen."

"At least I'm a queen?" I beamed at her. "Now will you go change, we're going out."

"What is wrong with my outfit?"

"Not enough fleece for you Holly? Not enough backpacks?"

"You're insane, you know that, right?"

I winked at her, having Holly call me insane was just another day in my life.

"Mmm, the complete lack of your beautiful cleavage, I'd imagine to be the true answer."

"Gail…you're in a_ Star_ _Wars _shirt and there is something wrong with my outfit? Who is the nerd now?"

"Um, is this a trick question?" I scrunched my eyebrows in mock contemplation. "Plus, I am in a _Star Wars _v-neck. See? I dipped my upper half a bit to give her a clear view of my chest. "Ta-tas! Now will you go change?"

"Should I change right here, in the middle of the room, in your full view?"

Her voice dropped an octave and she gave me a seductive stare. Yes, she is a magnificent bastard.

"N-no" I stutter out. "You should, uh, you should…I'll turn around. I've planned this evening all day and you're not going to seduce me with your wily ways and ruin it."

I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Ruin it, eh?"

"The date, ruin the planned date."

"You're taking me out on a date?"

A warm smile lightened her features.

"Well, you needed a Friday night girl…and I am all about growing these days."

"Gail, you're worth more than just a Friday night," she said, her voice suddenly sounding serious.

She looked at me earnestly.

"I am?"

"Yeah, you're _at least _a Friday and a Saturday night girl."

"Teasing, you're teasing me again."

"I'll get my way after the date, you know. Turn around."

I turned and faced towards the entrance to the dorm room and waited for her to change her clothes.

"I certainly hope so."

"You can turn back around now, Gail."

I turned around and almost pounced her onto the futon when I saw her. She was wearing a tight black v-neck t-shirt, a black belt, tight grey jeans and mid-calf high black boots. She looked impossibly sexy. I cleared my throat loudly willing the words to come.

"Um, yeah…we should go. We should go so that I can get you back into my bed."

"I knew you'd see things my way."

She smiled at me and dragged me out of the room.


	10. Chapter X

"You took me to…an arcade for our first date?"

Holly's voice sounded incredulous and completely unsure of my obviously wise decision.

"No, _Holly_, it's not simply 'an arcade', it is an all-in-one fun center! They have go karts, and mini golf, and terror cages in which they will fling balls at your face at a relatively high rate of speed and expect you to hit them with a tiny stick when probably you'll just get hit in the face."

"I believe they have helmets for that and, besides, _I _wouldn't get hit in the face."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What exactly are you trying to say, nerd?"

"I'm saying that you're the only one that would manage to get hit in the face were we to go into the batting cages."

"Well, batting cages have to be better than mini golf. I don't really understand hitting a ball lightly to make it go into a teeny tiny hole. I just want to hit the shit out of it, but then it flies off into the water and I have to walk all the way back to the silly shack to get another ball and the attendant gives me a dirty look. The whole mini golf thing is just an absolute disaster."

"So, if you didn't bring me here for the mini golf or the batting cages, then why are we here?"

"I thought you were a genius? Go-karts, obviously!"

I grabbed her hands and led her toward the little tiki shack where we could buy our tokens. We purchased the tokens from an attendant that seemed all too amused to have two giggling hand-holding girls speaking to him and ran out of the shack towards the go karts.

"You know if I beat you in the first race we're going to do the batting cages, yeah?"

"I'm not worried, you won't beat me."

"Keep telling yourself that, princess."

"You did not just call me 'princess', Holly Stewart."

"It appears I did."

"I am going to kick your ass."

"Save it for the race track."

She grinned at me as we pushed through the turnstile and into the line waiting for go-kart rides. I hopped up on the railing and sat down and Holly pushed her way between my legs and braced herself against me by placing her hands over mine. She was grinning from ear to ear and she looked so adorable and at ease. I am usually completely against public displays of affection but she looked too cute to not kiss so I leaned into her and gave her a quick kiss. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and a look of complete surprise crossed her gorgeous features.

"You just looked too perfect."

I said, by way of explanation. I wasn't sure it was possible, but she managed, the smile on her face widened. When the line began to move Holly slid us down the railing with remarkable grace.

"Ugh, why is this line so long?"

I whined and was met with a raised eyebrow from Holly.

"What? It's annoying!"

"You realize it's a Friday night?"

"So? We should be VIPs and just get right in."

"Any particular reason?"

"Justifiably, Holly, look at us."

"You want to waste VIP status on this place?"

"If it will get me to my go-karts faster, yes."

"Your impatience is astonishing, truly."

"Aw, Holly, did you just say you're astonished by me?"

"That would be the only thing you took out of that entire comment."

"Pretty much."

I grinned triumphantly and did a little wiggle on the railing to show my excitement. Holly chuckled softly and moved us down the railing again. When the attendant said two more people could fit in this run I was ecstatic. I hopped down off the railing and grabbed Holly's hand and ran towards the last two go-karts. I vaulted into my cart and bucked myself in. When I was finished I looked over at Holly and pointed two fingers in a v-shape at my eyes and then flipped them towards her. She waggled her eyebrows at me and blew me a kiss. I turned my head forward and waited for the green light to appear. I eased my foot onto the acceleration pedal and when the light hit green I floored it and took off well ahead of Holly. I felt a pang of victory but it was short lived and everything went to shit after that. One lap in and some asshole smashed into me and took me out of the whole thing. Holly drove by and waved at me like the magnificent bastard she is and I sat in my stupid go-kart grumpily awaiting an attendant to come rescue me. Holly, of course, managed to slaughter everybody because she is perfectly good at everything except not being a nerd. She met me at the exit and pushed through with me.

"So, batting cages?"

She smiled a soft smile, as if she was trying not to rub my defeat in my face.

"That's not even a fair loss. It wasn't even you that slammed me into the rail and ruined my fun it was that _asshole_!"

I gestured to the supreme moron of Earth who glared back at me.

"Keep walking, asshole. You know they have no contact rules for a fucking reason, right?"

Holly grabbed my hand and dragged me into a dark corner. She pressed her body flush up against mine and the heat of her skin made me gasp. Her hands ran from my waist to my neck and she pulled me in and kissed me deliriously until I was weak in the knees.

"You okay now?"

She breathed out the words so delicately I wanted to melt into a puddle at her feet. My mind struggled to come up with a coherent response and eventually failed to do so at all.

"Mmm."

"Batting cages?"

"Uh huh."

It took me a second before I comprehended what I had just agreed to and I protested at the realization. Holly slid her hands down my body to grab one of mine. I didn't want to go to the batting cages, I wanted to stay in that dark corner and make out with Holly like horny teenagers. Was that such a ridiculous request? Evidently, since she tugged me off in the direction of the horror show. We paid our tokens and grabbed a helmet and a bat. Holly went first and hit every single ball. It was actually infuriating watching the elegance she possessed. She acted as if hitting a tiny ball with a stick wasn't any big thing to her. Of course, it wasn't. Her body moved perfectly in-sync. I realized standing there watching her…that she was annoying as hell. How could one person be so great at everything? I decided then and there to make it my mission to find something Holly wasn't perfect at. She turned around when her round was over and held the bat out in my direction.

"Come on, it's cathartic."

Right. Cathartic my ass.

"I don't really, like, do sports."

She smiled widely at me and handed me the bat as I brush by her.

"It's not gonna kill you to try something new."

I set myself in the batter's box and waited for the ball to come. By waited, I mean waited in sheer terror. I tried to compose myself, bending the knees, holding the bat the way Holly did. I tried to look brave. I heard the faint whirring of the machine indicating that the ball was about to come to pummel me and my only defense was this stupid stick. I briefly contemplated holding it in front of me like a sword, but thought I would look even sillier than I was about to. When I saw the ball coming I swung at it, but my sheer terror caused me to release the bat, sending it flying in front of me, and I ran to the netting to hide from the ball while shrieking. Naturally, Holly was hunched over in a fit of laughter.

"Sorry!" I managed.

She continued laughing at me for a moment before composing herself enough to say,

"Actually, it might kill you!"

"Sorry" I said again, through laughter.

"I feel so humiliated! I told you I don't like sports!"

I stormed off in the direction of the exit and brushed by her as she continued to laugh at me like crazy.

"I'm leaving!"

I announced as I walked out of the batting cage area.

Holly followed me shortly after and sat down beside me on the bench I occupied.

"At least it didn't hit me in the face? I think that's pretty good, all things considered."

"I speculate that with a little work you'll be ready for the major leagues."

"Yeah, I'll be a regular Baby Ruth."

"Uh, that would be Babe Ruth."

"Yeah, Holly, I totally knew that. I was just seeing if you knew."

"I could take you on the ice to see if you can play hockey?"

"Right, coordination issues and ice skates. Seems brilliant."

"You're not very good at being Canadian, are you? Are you good at anything?"

"I can think of one thing…"

I snaked my arm around the back of her head, pulled her face to mine and kissed her slowly and deeply.

"Mmm, yep, that definitely makes up for all the rest."

Her voice had dropped and her pupils were dilated in pure lust. Which meant, of course, it was the perfect time to play with her.

"Come on, I need a win tonight."

I said in a very seductive voice. I stood up and pulled her up with me and headed toward the exit. At the last second before exiting the place I turned and pulled her into the arcade building and towards one of the police shooter arcade games.

"This is definitely not where I thought this was going."

Holly said, the sting of disappointment quite palpable in her voice.

I grabbed the red gun and she grabbed the blue. We inserted our tokens and the game began. Almost immediately she accidentally shot a hostage.

"Woah nelly! I killed a hostage! Was that a baby she was holding?!"

"Pull it together, Stewart, you only have two more fuck ups before they kick you off the force."

"Wouldn't they actually pull me off the force the first time I shot a woman holding a baby? Are they that desperate for manpower? I should be fired now."

"It's a video game. Settle down."

"That guy just hit me with two bullets! How am I still standing? And why can't I hit him?"

"Maybe because you're not aiming in the right direction? I'll get him for you."

"Oh my hero! You saved me!"

"I'm not sure you were worth it." I mutter out as she gets shot, yet again.

"Oops! That telephone looked like a gun."

"Thanks, you just lost the game for us."

"Glad to be of service."

She grins and then looks over the score screen as it descends to tell us our statistics.

"Look how awesome you did, though! Looks like you got your win for the night."

"Mmm, yep. Now I'm going home to collect my other win."

I smiled seductively at her and led her towards the exit.


End file.
